What are Some High Paying Career Options in the Electronics Field?
The electronics field includes many possible careers, but the highest paying ones require post-secondary education. Read on to learn what all of these careers are about and what the salary is like.
High Paying Careers in Electronics
The electronics field offers a range of opportunities for those interested in working with technology, systems, and advanced equipment. Many of these roles rank among the highest-paying careers, especially for professionals with specialized training and experience.
Below, we’ll take a closer look at three of the top-paying jobs in this field: electronics repairers, electrical and electronics drafters, and electronics engineers.
<h3 id="section---ImportantFactsAboutTheseCareers">Important Facts About These Careers</h3><p></p><table border="1"><tr><td> </td><th> Electrical Drafters </th><th> Repairers </th><th> Engineers</th></tr>
<tr><td>Median Salary (2021)</td><td>$61,510</td><td> $61,730 (<i>electrical and electronics repairers, commercial and industrial equipment</i>) </td><td> $104,820</td></tr>
<tr><td> Job Outlook (2021-2031) </td><td>0% </td><td> 2% </td><td> 6%</td></tr>
<tr><td> Key Skills </td><td> Creativity, time-management, and math skills </td><td> Color vision, technical, and communication skills </td><td> Concentration, initiative, math, and interpersonal skills</td></tr>
<tr><td> Work Environment </td><td> In the office, occasionally going out to job sites </td><td> Often in a factory or repair shop, sometimes lifting heavy equipment </td><td> Usually in the office, occasionally visiting job sites</td></tr>
<tr><td> Required Education </td><td> A certificate or associate's degree in drafting </td><td> Specialized courses at a technical school, sometimes certification is necessary </td><td> Bachelor's degree, sometimes a Professional Engineer license is necessary</td></tr>
</table><p><i>Source: United States Bureau of Labor Statistics</i>
</p><h3 id="section---ElectricalAndElectronicsDrafters">Electrical and Electronics Drafters</h3><p>As an electronics drafter, you are responsible for developing the plans for circuit boards, wiring and installations. Your work is used by others to create, install or fix specific electronic devices. This includes making physical copies and computer-stored copies of your work. You need to compare and recheck configurations before releasing a final product.
</p><h3 id="section---SalaryInformation">Salary Information</h3><p>The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that the median salary in May 2021 was $61,510 for electrical and electronics drafters (<i>www.bls.gov</i>). If you were in the lowest ten percent, you earned $38,120 or less annually. However, if you were in the top ten percent, your annual income was $99,210 or more.
</p><p>Although most electrical and electronics drafters worked in the architectural, engineering and related services industry and earned an average wage of $62,430, you will want to work in scientific research and development services if you're interested in the top paying industry for electrical and electronic drafters. In this field, the mean yearly income was $87,820 in May 2021. If you're employed in District of Columbia, then you're working in the top paying state for this vocation. The annual mean wage in that state was $81,650 in May 2021. <i>PayScale.com</i> also reported in January 2023 that entry-level electrical and electronics drafters earned a mean wage of $52,216.
</p><h3 id="section---ElectronicsRepairers">Electronics Repairers</h3><p>As an electronics repairer, you troubleshoot or maintain electronic equipment. This kind of work involves outfitting factory or lab systems with updated automated control mechanisms. You can operate on trains, golf carts, sonar and surveillance systems, among other items. Normally, you specialize in a specific type of electronics, and that will guide your career.
</p><h3 id="section---SalaryInformation-2">Salary Information</h3><p>Your salary is dependent upon the type of electrics and electronics devices you work on. The median annual income for an electric motor, power tool and related repairer was $61,730 in May 2021, per the BLS. If you're an electronic repairer who worked with motor vehicles, your yearly median salary was $46,910. If you worked in transportation equipment, your annual median wage was $77,250. While you earned a median wage of $61,730 if you worked on industrial and commercial equipment, the median wage was $93,420 if you worked on powerhouses, substations and relays.
</p><p>In addition, <i>PayScale.com</i> reported that entry-level electronics technicians earned between $33,000 and $70,000 a year. The entry-level mean salary was $45,832, as of January 2023. Industrial electronics technicians earned $46,204 at that same time, as of April 2021.
</p><h3 id="section---ElectronicsEngineers">Electronics Engineers</h3><p>In electronics engineering, your work is mostly done in the early stages of development. The job duties for this career include researching and testing all kinds of equipment for fields such as acoustics, GPS systems, broadcast systems or portable music devices. You also have many options to choose from when it comes to career specializations, including signal processing, control systems or communications.
</p><h3 id="section---SalaryInformation-3">Salary Information</h3><p>According to the BLS, electronics engineers (excluding computer engineers) earned a median wage of $104,820 in May 2021. Salaries were $73,630 or less for the bottom 10% and $166,890 or more for the top 10%. The District of Columbia offered electronics engineers the best average pay of $136,380. In December 2022, <i>PayScale.com</i> listed a median wage of $73,355 for entry-level electronics engineers, with most earning between $51,000 and $92,000. The median wage was $111,124 for late-career professionals, as of October 2022.</p>